DIGITALIN  IN  AMERICAN  AND  EUROPEAN  DIGITALIS.  55 
opposite  end  of  the  box  from  that  perforated,  or  at  such  nearer 
position  as  may  be  requisite,  the  gauze  cover  placed  in  position 
and  a  spray  of  rhigoline,  ether,  or  a  mixture  of  alcohol  and  ether 
discharged  against  the  offending  moulds. 
•  The  happy  pharmacist,  satisfied  with  the  rapid  cooling,  ex- 
claims, "hang  the  expense,"  pours  from  the  box  what  is  con- 
densed of  the  vaporizing  fluid  and  dismisses  his  customer,  alas! 
too  often  to  again  have  his  blissful  dreams  disturbed  before  the 
advent  of  a  morrow's  sun. 
Suppositories  should  always  be  passed  over  the  counter  with 
direction  to  keep  in  a  cool  place  when  not  wanted  for  use,  and 
to  be  then  handled  quickly.  Servants  should  also  be  cautioned 
against  placing  the  bottle  in  the  pocket,  or  immediately  contig- 
uous to  the  person. 
A  great  need  is  felt  of  a  low-priced  suppository  adjuster.  I 
am  not  aware  that  one  exists,  but  believe  the  invention  would 
meet  with  ready  sale. 
Shaved  ice  answers  better  for  cooling  than  broken,  or  ice  and 
water,  a  better  mixture  is  shaved  ice  and  salt. 
— Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc. ^  1868. 
ON  THE  EELATIYE  PROPORTION  OF  DIGITALIN  PRESENT 
IN  AMERICAN  AND  EUROPEAN  DIGITALIS. 
By  Samuel  P.  Duffield,  Ph.  D. 
Last  year  I  asked  an  extension  of  Query  No.  34,  viz.  : 
Do  the  leaves  of  the  Digitalis  purpurea  grown  in  the  United  States 
yield  less  digitalin  than  the  European  plant  ?  and  is  the  alleged  inferior- 
ity of  the  former,  if  this  be  true;  due  to  a  deficiency  of  this  principle  ? 
My  reasons  for  asking  an  extension  were  that  I  had  not,  satis- 
factorily to  myself,  blocked  out  a  metnod  of  procedure  which 
would  answer  it  best.  I  had  designed  estimating  the  quantity 
of  the  alkaloid  digitalia  by  the  proposed  method  of  Mayer,  by 
precipitation  by  means  of  iodohydrargyrate  of  potassium,  or  by 
Rudolph  Wagner's  method  of  iodine  in  a  solution  of  iodide  of 
potassium.  The  more  I  pondered,  the  more  satisfied  I  became 
that  that  process  would  not  give  a  satisfactory  answer,  as  we 
have  not  yet  investigated  the  combinations  of  the  alkaloid  with 
